📚 Welcome, Fiveable fam! Let’s jump into this week’s top study tips, news highlights, and uplifting stories. 🌟

📲 Content Corner

A weekly roundup of the best study hacks, tools, and insights to boost your academic game.

💸 Check out this list of 10 top scholarships you should apply to for college!

🎉 A unique and fun way to build back your focus and attention span.

🩺 Senior Cambridge medical student shares 9 science-based study tips that helped her ace her final exams.

📲 This cool app – one sec – helps cultivate more intentional social media use and can prevent endless scrolling.

🍎 Tomorrow, we’re hosting a live SAT Math Cram preview at 7pm ET, on Advanced Math and Additional Topics. It’s 🆓, so we hope you take advantage of it!

📣 Homeroom Headlines

High School Students Unlock Associate’s Degrees At New Prep School 📜

Baldwin County Schools in Alabama are pioneering in education with the construction of Baldwin Preparatory Academy, set to open for the 2024-25 school year.

This innovative institution allows students from grades 10-12 to receive vocational training in various trades, health services, and cosmetology, enabling them to graduate with not only a high school diploma but potentially also an associate’s degree!

This ambitious project aims to address workforce gaps while preparing students for seamless transitions into the workforce.

What This Means for Students: Students in Baldwin County now have an enriched opportunity to explore and prepare for their future careers while still in high school.

This means a chance for a head start in their chosen fields, potentially eliminating the need for college and facilitating immediate entry into the workforce.

Here’s their full list of Programs of Study:

• Automotive Technology

• Aviation

• Construction Technology

• Cosmetology

• Culinary Arts

• Cybersecurity

• Graphic Design

• Health Science

• HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical

• Mechatronics Engineering Technology

• Teacher Cadet

• Welding

Innovations like Baldwin Prep hint at a future educational landscape poised for radical, diverse shifts, broadening the pathways to success for upcoming generations.

Empowering Minds: EnvironMentors at Penn State Fosters Young Scientists 🧑‍🔬

Penn State's EnvironMentors program is inviting applications from high school students from underserved districts to join its 2023-24 cohort. This initiative, a chapter of a national program, links high school students with faculty and university resources to conduct environmental research projects.

Participants gain exposure to real-world scientific research, and both high school and undergraduate students receive a stipend. If you’d like to apply, check out the program here! 

Application deadline is October 15th.

What This Means for Students: For students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, the EnvironMentors program offers a unique opportunity to engage in meaningful scientific research and exploration alongside experienced faculty, potentially shaping their academic and career paths.

Participants can develop practical skills and gain insights into environmental science and research methodologies. EnvironMentors is paving the way for kids pursuing STEM, and contributing to their overall academic and professional development.

Conquering College Chaos: Finding Your Perfect Fit 🎒

With the college admission landscape undergoing seismic shifts, students are grappling with unprecedented challenges and intensifying competition.

Acceptance rates are plummeting as application numbers soar—highlighted by a 21% increase in total applications between 2020-22.

But a silver lining emerges with 78% of students landing their first-choice school, suggesting the importance of personalized fit over renowned brand names in determining the “right” college.

What This Means for Students: The evolving college admission paradigm signals a need for a new perspective on what a “good school” really means.

78% of students gaining admission to their first-choice colleges underscores the importance of aligning choices with personal needs, passions, and goals, rather than chasing prestigious names.

It’s essential for students to focus on institutions that genuinely complement their aspirations and contribute to their overall well-being and success.

A well-strategized, authentic, and self-aware approach to applications can help students navigate this changing landscape, allowing them to find colleges that are truly the right fit for them.

😌 The Wellness Workshop

This week’s Wellness Workshop tool is a fantastic anxiety-buster.

According to research, it can also “improve mindful attention and creative cognition."

Meditation? Exercise? Walking?

Nope — coloring.

Maybe you’ve experienced the first-hand effects of how coloring can help improve your mood.

Well, now, research is piling up to suggest it’s one of the most effective ways to:

• Lower stress

• Curb anxiety

• Reduce burnout

• Improve attention

• Make you more creative

Not bad for going back to the basics!

To get started, here’s a great website with 216 mandala coloring pages that are free to download and print.

Happy coloring! 🎨

⭐ Student Spotlight

This week’s student spotlight is on two innovative seniors – Vishal Rajkumar and Rithvik Chintha – at Round Rock High School, Texas!

They’ve developed Interscope, an app aimed at diversifying the healthcare sector by connecting aspiring medical interns with healthcare providers offering internships.

This is a step towards ensuring that opportunities are not just reserved for those with existing connections in the field, making the healthcare industry more inclusive and diverse.

Rithvik said, “We don’t want to keep minorities and disadvantaged people out of the equation just because they don’t have connections." 👏

Big cheers to Vishal and Rithvik for their innovative efforts to open doors in the medical field!

Do you know a high school student (or several) doing something interesting?

Reply with their story – we’d love to feature them in a future student spotlight!

🎟️ Turbocharge Your Studies with Cram Mode 🎟️

Ready to seriously turn up the heat on your study sessions?

Then you’re gonna love Fiveable’s Cram Mode!

Cram Mode is a powerful tool that helps students double their chance of success at crushing their AP exams, compared to the national average.

• Unlock 19,000 practice questions spanning every AP subject

• Instant feedback with easy-to-understand explanations for questions you miss

• A powerful community of peers for you to connect and study with

• Enjoy exclusive access to 170+ live cram events throughout the school year to help you succeed

Teachers with 10+ years of experience built this resource to help you succeed.

And with feedback like this:

“It honestly helped me out so much. I would’ve dropped a whole number score or two if I didn’t have the help from Fiveable.” – High School Freshman, AP Human Geography Crams 2023

We’re confident that Cram Mode is the best choice for students looking to unlock their full potential.

Join today to start benefiting from our powerful study resources! 💯

🎬 That’s a wrap, Fiveable fam! See you next week! ✨